Following inmate escapes, Merced County inches closer to replacing outdated jail
The Merced County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to proceed with the next step on a long path to updating the county’s aging jail.
The project in question is slated to build a new 256-bed maximum-security facility expansion at the John Latorraca Correctional Center. A sheriff’s administration services facility would also be constructed at a site that is yet to be determined.
The plan will eventually replace and permanently close the county’s main jail in Merced, consolidating it with the John Latorraca facility southwest of Merced.
“The 1960s era Main Jail has many required operational and accessibility upgrades that are not a prudent investment to make at the current facility,” county documents outlining the project say.
The Board on Tuesday unanimously approved a $1.35 million contract with CGL Companies, Inc. of Sacramento to finalize project documents and provide project and construction management services for the plan’s next phase. The corporation consults on justice facility planning, design, maintenance, and operations.
History of problems at defunct Merced County jail
The Board’s vote comes at a time when the jails’ infrastructure has come under scrutiny and sharp criticism. Six inmates escaped the Main Jail in January, and another inmate fled the John Latorraca center in April.
Each of the inmates has since been captured, but the slough of jailbreaks has sparked public anger.
Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke blamed the facilities’ outdated infrastructure, as well as staff failures, for the barrage of escapes.
The recent bad press certainly wasn’t the jail’s first, however.
In-depth reporting by The Sacramento Bee and ProPublica in 2019 showed how worn-out facilities have created dangerous jail conditions and led to inmate deaths. A Merced County Grand Jury report as far back as 2008 called the state of the Main Jail “deplorable.”
“In sum, Merced County needs a new jail! If these deficiencies are not addressed quickly, the potential for inmate disturbances, possible escapes, and further, more expensive facility repairs will only grow to unmanageable proportions,” jurors wrote in 2008.
Funding success and delays
After multiple tries for state funding to pay for the hefty cost of necessary upgrades, the county in 2016 was awarded $40 million to upgrade the John Latorraca Correctional Center.
The facility is about 30 years younger than the Main Jail but has still been called “outdated” by the Merced County Sheriff’s Office. It was originally designed to house inmates over the weekend or overnight.
The money for the 2015 remodel plan was secured under Senate Bill 863, which addresses improvements for correctional facilities.
In 2018, the grand jury report renewed calls for the county to quickly begin long-planned construction because the Main Jail’s design “does not provide a safe environment for inmates or correctional officers,” The Sacramento Bee and ProPublica reported.
But the Sheriff’s Office recently told the Sun-Star that construction of the project still hasn’t started due to delays at the state and local level.
The Board’s action on Tuesday brings construction one small step closer to starting.
The county has contracted with CGL Companies, Inc. since 2014 several times throughout the planning process for project needs assessments and conceptual cost estimates. The new contract is set to go into effect June 11 and terminate June 30, 2024.
